1992

XPilot

XPilot is a multiplayer and open source game that runs on many platforms. Although its 2D graphics have improved over time, they still resemble the style of Thrust. Gameplay includes Capture the Flag, base defense, racing and deathmatches. XPilot uses a client–server architecture, in which a central metaserver receives information from all XPilot servers on the Internet.

Released: 1992
Platforms: Linux Windows macOS
Genres: —
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer

About

XPilot is a multiplayer video game. It is open source and runs on many platforms. Although its 2D graphics have improved over time, they still resemble the style of Thrust. Gameplay includes Capture the Flag, base defense, racing and deathmatches. XPilot uses a client–server architecture, in which a central metaserver receives information from all XPilot servers on the Internet.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The metaserver contains a list of all XPilot maps on the Internet. These maps, created by users, feature several types of gameplay. In deathmatches, points are earned by destroying other players or robots. Users can increase their firepower by picking up items such as missiles, mines and lasers.

Players can also defend themselves by gathering cloaks, shields, ECMs and armor. In racing maps, players earn points based on their finishing position. The objective of team games is to "destroy" the opponent's ball by placing it in the treasure chest. Team games may also be run in a slightly different Capture the flag mode.

Development

In 1991, Bjørn Stabell and Ken Schouten, then computer science undergraduates at the University of Tromsø, began writing XPilot, inspired by the earlier game Thrust. It was originally developed in C on HP9000 workstations which ran Unix. Soon after its first public release in 1992, Stabell and Schouten began receiving feedback, suggestions, and patches from players all around the world. Other XPilot users wrote documentation and contributed source code to the project. By 1996, there were nearly one hundred XPilot servers worldwide.

XPilot's code has been forked several times. XPilot5 is a complete rewrite of XPilot in C++. Unlike its predecessor, it comes with sound and is bundled with applications to configure the keyboard, ship shapes and behavior. 0.